Dairy giant to manufacture its own recycled packaging

Müller, the UK’s biggest dairy producer, is acquiring bottle manufacturing plants in Manchester and elsewhere to take control of its own packaging and accelerate the reduction of virgin plastics.

The multi-million pound move to bring packaging in house will give the company the means to increase the use of recycled plastic in its already 100 per cent recyclable milk bottles towards a target of 50 per cent by 2020.

Acquisitions of two bottle manufacturing plants owned by Nampak adjacent to Müller’s dairies in Manchester and Belshill, Scotland, have already concluded, and negotiations to purchase further manufacturing assets elsewhere are in the advanced stage.

‘New operating model’

With plastics now an urgent competitive and moral priority for companies in the UK and globally, Müller has decided the bold move to take full control of its packaging will allow it to pursue ‘innovative new packaging solutions’.

“With these acquisitions we are changing our operating model to gain greater control and agility to ensure that our packaging is fit-for-purpose, recyclable and evolving to meet rapidly changing customer and consumer needs”, said Andrew McInnes, managing director of Müller Milk & Ingredients.

“Rather than being reliant on third party manufacturers or having to purchase and transport empty packaging from remote manufacturing facilities to our dairies, we will have the ability to make milk bottles in our own plants to our specification and pass them straight to our filling lines.”

The company is also working actively with WRAP on its resource efficiency progress.

Posted under Material and Packaging Efficiency and Food and Drink on 7 March 2018